I was wondering if any of y'all are former cast members or if they ever pop on here.
From what I remember being said at my first fest, in 03, someone asked and none of the actors in attendance admitted to doing so, so I think the chances are they don't prowl groups boards, etc. Then again, think how many years ago it was for them, even though these were jobs that all seem to remember with great fondness.
I think with the older fandoms like DS its relatively rare for the actors or most production people to lurk. On the other hand, its VERY common with shows which came about since the net. I know a number of actors from
Roswell frequent Fan Forum, and a few of those even moderate areas. And I remember when I was on GEnie when
Babylon 5 was on the air, Strasynski (sp?) was on there regularly, posting away and taking the pulse of fan reaction as the story unfolded. And with
The West Wing the powers that be were active on line, and the late John Spencer was active to some extent, especially with the site of his self styled "estrogen brigade". I also think I remember reading on some WW board that Dule Hill had met some fans on line and through that they had ended up visiting the set.
The flip side to remember, of course -- though this wouldn't be a cause for concern on a civil, mature and well moderated board like this one -- is that the actors and the powers that be in any fandom might, when exploring on line see more than you want them to of the less civilized "dark side of fandom". This ties in with the rule of thumb I remember from the pre Internet days of fandom. When it comes to any fannish activity involving actors, assume they will never know what you do, but behave as if they see everything you do. Its still a good rule to follow for minimizing possible conflicts (copyright, trademark, etc.) with the powers that be.